Ofcom Sanctions BBC Over Misleading Gaza Documentary

Ofcom found the BBC documentary Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone to be materially misleading after the broadcaster failed to disclose that its 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas deputy agriculture minister. The regulator ruled the omission breached Rule 2.2 of the Broadcasting Code, represented a serious breach that risked eroding public trust, and imposed a sanction. Ofcom has directed the BBC to broadcast a statement of its findings on BBC Two in evening primetime (21:00) on a date to be confirmed. The BBC apologised, removed the film from iPlayer, said the production company had not informed it of the family connection, and accepted Ofcom’s decision. The ruling comes amid wider scrutiny of the corporation’s Gaza coverage, including staff complaints about perceived imbalance.